SUFFOLK, VA -- John Miller, demonstration branch chief with the Joint Staff J6, was recently awarded the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award for his significant achievements in overseeing the Bold Quest coalition interoperability assessments which have supported the warfighter in the field.
The award is given annually to recognize those DoD employees who have made significant contributions in policy, scientific, technical or administrative fields that have increased efficiency and effectiveness in operations.
Miller, assigned to the Deputy Director for Cyber and Command, Control, Computers, and Communications Integration’s Joint Fires Division, here, was one of seven recipients honored in a ceremony held Nov. 7 at the Pentagon.
With a combined 30 plus years in uniform and in civil service, Miller has spearheaded the rising significance over the past 10 years of the Bold Quest series, making it one of the most comprehensive, cost effective and productive multinational and joint operational demonstrations in the Defense Department.
“John has mastered the art of bringing together US Armed Forces, partner nation forces, and their respective system developers and analysts in a single, focused, realistic venue,” said Danny Allen, chief, Joint Fires Division. “This allows the participants to leverage each other’s resources, greatly increasing “bang-for-the-buck” in their military developmental activities, which is even more critical in current budget conditions. The participating nations and U.S. services are then able to produce greater improvements in combat equipment and skills than they could have achieved on their own, and at lower cost.”
“This is the only job in civil service I have had,” Miller said, noting he came onboard in 2005. Receiving this award was “a surprise. My role has always been to represent the coalition and U.S. participants.
“You always hear of individual awards actually being team awards, and this is a classic example of that. I’m representing hundreds of people who have worked on Bold Quest over the past 10 years,” he said. “I’m accompanied in this work by great colleagues and have been extraordinarily fortunate to have had the strong, unwavering support of my seniors.”
Allen noted that in the past 10 years, “through John’s exemplary leadership, Bold Quest has grown from a small combat identification technology evaluation, to this recurring series of complex coalition interoperability assessments that are widely recognized throughout the U.S. and international military communities for their value to current and future combat operations. “
Miller has been instrumental in increasing the significance and focus of the BQ series, seeing it grow from a coalition of seven nations in 2005 to the current 14. Bold Quest aims to improve interoperability and information sharing across a range of capabilities, enabling coalition warfighters to identify and engage their targets quickly and effectively.
The focal points in each Bold Quest cycle are the operational demonstrations in which warfighters, capability developers and test agencies convene for operations representative of coalition warfare across air, ground and maritime domains. Some of the capabilities tested in Bold Quest were successfully fielded in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Under Miller’s leadership, the BQ series has recently entered into partnership opportunities with the Army’s Network Integration Evaluation exercise and the Expeditionary Warrior Experiment; efforts that have significantly increased cost efficiencies and enhanced interaction and collaborations amongst the participants.
Miller said the partnership with the Army has been a highlight of the BQ cycle in recent years. “One of the things I’m proudest of for the whole team is that we’ve established enough of a reputation that other organizations and activities were interested in aligning with BQ,” he said.
“First and foremost, everyone is interested in interoperability,” Miller said. “Our partner nations are very interested in staying interoperable with the United States and vice versa. Our allies demonstrate that during each Bold Quest by undertaking the burden and expense of deploying people and equipment to the U.S. We have found ways for all participants to get the most from their investment in an era when everyone, both in the U.S. and overseas, is very cost conscious.”